VideoGame_Discussion

This is the exact same boat I’m in. I’ve never played RE4 and am wondering how long it will take for the VR version to be ready.

Shane12m wrote:

I feel that way too, that's also why I haven't opened RE8 yet. But for RE4, it wasn't made clear if the full game would be playable in VR or not. Some are thinking it will just be a side-story mode added in. I'm hoping they are wrong.

Man I wish I could go back in time and experience the greatness that is RE4 for the first time again. Y’all are in for a treat.

I'm playing through RE4 right now and it's still a good game. Tank controls are rough though.

Man, the gaming industry loves their RE4...
in spite of the things it got right (being an action shooter), the horror value is just way down on it. While I see it's greatness, it's not in the same realm as the other RE's I know and love.

RE4 is the only RE game I cared enough to spend more than $3 on. It’s a dream with Wii motion controls.

Atelier Ryza 3 reviews are starting to come in, and they're pretty good (87 on PC, 84 on Switch, and 82 on PS5 so far).

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

Looks like only 4 of us were brave enough to add it to our lists

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

Thanks for the heads up! OP should now be up to date. Ryza 3 is still at 82 from 13 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/atel...

Hey guys. Just updated the OP with scores for Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened (76 on Metacritic) and Process of Elimination (65 on Metacritic).

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/sher...
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/proc...

Oh nice! Only one more and I get the full set of scores!!!

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been Delayed to February 2024

Gives people a chance to not use it next year. Looks awful

mattyg00013 wrote:

Ugh. Was afraid of this. And yes WB Games is going to ruin this title that I’m sure Rocksteady put its blood sweat and tears into. Stupid corpos.

I don't think I've ever played a good WB game in these latest generation of games....

Same. The last great WB published games I remember playing was The Witcher 3 and Arkham Knight. Circa 2015.

mattyg00013 wrote:

Thank goodness! Now it’s off my list and re4 replaces it :)

OP updated with scores for Dead Island 2. It's at 75 on Metacritic from 40 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/dead...

Not shocking

I still intend to play it, but I'm glad I ended up not putting it on my list.
The only game on my list I'm worried about at this point is Kerbal Space Program 2. It hasn't been reviewing so well on Steam, but it's still only in Early Access.

I really thought Dead Island 2 was gonna tank. I think I’ll wait for it to come to Game Pass tho or something since I still have Dying Light 2 to sift thru.

Curious question, what if you have a game on your list that didn’t get enough reviews for a meta score?

3hitcombo wrote:

I would guess that it wouldn’t qualify and you use one of your backups.

I think Heavyd814life goes back through at the end of the year to adjust the points based on ratings change because you can expect more reviews later on in the year... so maybe a game doesn't get a Metacritic score now, but in October, it gets one.

HybridCRoW wrote:

Yup! And if for some reason a game only gets say 3 reviews, I'll just average out the scores for those 3 reviews. We've never had to do that, though. Even the most niche games end up with enough reviews to get a Metacritic score.

OP updated with scores for Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp. It's currently at 82 on Metacritic from 49 reviews. Very solid, but I actually thought it would score higher.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/advance-war...

Pre-ordered the deluxe edition of FF XVI after watching the State of Play. It looks amazing, and I'm sure it is a pick by many :)

Heavyd814life wrote:

I was also expecting it to be higher. I had it last year and for some reason I didn't include it this time.

Heavyd814life wrote:

Ah sweet thanks! This is my first year and I’ve never tracked metacritic scores so it’s all new to me!

Still really bitter about Advance Wars...

So rewinding a few days back to the Dead Island 2 review scores last week

I'm kind of surprised by the scores. I haven't played it myself yet, but the game has already passed the 1 million sold mark in its first 3 days (who knows how many more copies it would've sold on the PC side had it not been exclusive to Epic Games Store because I know I'm not alone in that I only purchase PC games from Steam), and in this thread below nobody really has anything negative to say about it, they're all saying how fun it is and some even claiming it is their current GotY. A 74, while not technically a bad score, doesn't seem to reflect all the good things I'm seeing in this thread.

The 74 Metacritic score tells me to wait and see if it goes on sale during Black Friday, but now I might pick it up a little earlier. Just need to see if PS5 and PS4 versions can play together (this should be a requirement to state if this is supported or not in PlayStation Store listings) and whether or not my co-op friend wants to.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/dead-island-2-has...

@PizzaTheHutt I image the issue with this game, just like the first one. Is that it is really fun and fresh in the first ~10 hours. But then after that its just a slog of open world crap to get through with bad mission design. And the fun factor of the combat wears off. And you start to see deeper into the cracks, and all the issues you glossed over in the first ~10 hours because you were having so much fun with the combat. Also reviewers should never be trusted.

Archer wrote:

For the most part I never base a purchase on a Metacritic average score. For a long time there was always one or two reviewers per website who I felt I could trust, but in that line of work jobs seem temporary and they're always leaving and going to work for some other site and I got tired of tryng to keep track of where they are. These days the ones I trust the most are only on YouTube and for whatever reason Metacritic won't include their scores. Several of them don't even give scores, which I like, you have to actually watch the review to hear what they like or don't like about the game.

You know what the worst YouTube review channel is? Gameranx. They never tell you not to buy a game and it's just non sensical rambling with no cohesive script to the review ever.

Star Wars: Survivor review embargo ends tomorrow morning at 10:00am CST

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

Cool! Previews were really positive so this should hopefully review well. Mid 80s maybe?

Jedi Survivor is on my list too. I can’t wait. I’m hoping high 80s.

There's someone out there that managed to get an early copy. He seems to be enjoying it but says there are quite a few performance issues, like lots of screen tearing.

Jedi Survivor currently sitting at an 86 with seventy two reviews in on open critic. Hype!

Sweet. As I hoped high 80s!

Metacritic finally updated. That was lagging behind lol

Just updated the OP. Great score!

It's going to be super close at the top this year. Everyone brought their A-game!

Shane12m wrote:

Yeah, I've never seen it lag like this. On mobile it tells me there are 71 reviews, but on my laptop it says 59. So weird.

83 reviews now. Still an 86. Figured this would fall through out the day. Because up until today I was only hearing negative things about it. About what a technical mess it is. And how it has so many issues. Not that I mind. Its on my list. But I expected a much lower score because of the last two days of leaks and bad mouthing.

Nice! This is one I really want to play. I'll give them some time to fix any big bugs it might have, though.

Archer wrote:


Same. Did reviewers just ignore all the issues? Or did they have access to the day one patch that the others playing it early didn't?

Interesting, I don't think I even saw that Star Wars game....

Heavyd814life wrote:

It's looking like this may be the first year I actually have a full 10 games that release. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results!

Armored Core VI launches August 25. I didn't think there was any chance of this one hitting this year. It's only on one list. Nice pick @TalonJedi87!

Holy Toledo! I picked that one whim cause it was From Soft and when they say something they typically mean it and they said a 2023 launch! Can’t wait!!!

Apparently Star Wars is playing poorly on console and PC. If I bother I'll wait for sub $10

I heard it’s getting bashed on Steam cause of the issues. And lord knows why it’s 140 something GB for the install. That’s just morbidly obese for no reason.

Kommie wrote:

The subreddit for this game is nothing but complaints about crashes, issues and bugs. No one has anything good to say in it. Wonder how all those review scores were what they were now. Because they played without the day one patch.

Redfall is getting bad previews as well

For some reason I thought Redfall dropped today. But I guess its tomorrow. Its also never a good sign when reviews are embargoed until the actual release date. Not too many times do those reviews come in glowing.

They don't need to release good first-party games on GamePass, throw them out broken, and fix them later. No one's really buying them

When I found out Redfall was more of a PVP game I immediately said meh. Not surprised it’s gonna get poor reviews. Let it get buried.

It's not PVP. It's co-up (more like Borderlands or The Division), which I've always liked. I'm not saying it's going to be good, but I hope it's good. Arkane Austin has talent; I loved Dishonored 2.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Kommie wrote:

This isn't exclusive to gamepass. It seems like 90% of all games are released too soon and need major patching. When was the last time a major AAA title released in a great state?

not that I'm trying to say Redfall is a AAA title.

Archer wrote:

It seems to be the norm for gamepass. Even ReR4 and Dead Space had minor issues... Not quite as bad as Star Wars though

I guess the ACG review came out early then was removed? He called it the worst game of the year.

Kommie wrote:

Whoa! This isn’t a game I’d ever play, but it looked solid enough from the footage I saw a couple of months ago.

I think the embargo is set for 8pm EST today so we’ll know soon enough.

Yikes. ACG is usually pretty spot on. That’s unfortunate.

Kommie wrote:

Yeah. Love me some ACG. He calls it like it is. It’ll be entertaining to see his input.

Opencritic currently has it at 68....

Here’s ACG’s review in progress. He still says it’s one of the worst, most unpolished games he’s played in a long time.

https://youtu.be/qOMP2aihNHE

OP updated with scores for Redfall. It's currently at 64 on Metacritic from 27 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-series-x/redf...

Redfall has dropped a ton ouch. Silksong delayed until later in 2023

https://twitter.com/griffinmatta/status/1656106351...

technically, they said nothing about it coming out in 2023 at all.....just that it wouldn't be in the first half of 2023

The Xbox Direct showcase last year ( June) said all the games shown would be playable in the next year. Silksong was one of them.... And Starfield.

I think I'll still be able to get a full 10 games even if Silksong doesn't come out this year.

Me too

Review embargo for Zelda should be over around 8:00AM tomorrow.

I'm guessing it will be a 92 with 60+ reviews.

99.9999999 or GTFO says the Ninty fanboys and girls.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Genesis does what Nintendon't.

Archer wrote:

That’s way too low.

Yeah if the consensus is only a mere 92 for a new Zelda game the world may implode.

96 prob

It's currently sitting at a 97 with one rebel giving it a 6/10!

79 positive reviews with 1 mixed...way to go, dude looking for clicks

bonham2 wrote:

Haha same as botw as well, that had a rebel 60 that fans flipped over

If it’s not at a comfy Zelda 99, it’s dead to me.

That 60 review is terrible. There always has to be one for clicks lol

I don't know, the 6/10 full review seems to have merit. Although the writer does seem to contradict himself a time or two. Still, I've felt this way about Zelda since perhaps Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword/the DS games. That is to say that the Zelda formula has perhaps exhausted itself a bit after 35 years. I know BotW was a "return to form" for many, but I'm skeptical on how much fresh new content could be added to TotK. Being called 'Zelda' shouldn't automatically warrant a 95+ score. I mean almost every single Zelda title is rated that way upon release. Can you honestly say every Zelda game is a top contender for best game all time? Skyward Sword for example is at 93 on metacritic right now, and it was probably higher at its initial release. It's not only a weak Zelda game, it's just a weak game in general. The 81 that the HD remake has is telling and more in touch with what Skyward Sword should have received initially.

https://www.gfinityesports.com/reviews/zelda-tears...

Agreed. I feel like Zelda games get a fair bit of grade inflation off the name.

incubus421 wrote:

that 6/10 review basically reads: "If you loved BotW, you'll love TotK. I did not love BotW, and this game is too similar"

fair point, but I loved BotW, so I genuinely don't care lol

Agreed too. Skyward Sword for me was nowhere near a 93. That was a 7.5 for me at best.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Hold up, someone really negged this? Like someone here actually believes Skyward Sword is worthy of a 93? It's one of the most egregious Metacritic scores of all time. Right up there with FF12 which has a 92 and MGSV which has a 93. I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. And I freaking LOVE FF12 and MGSV, but there's no world where the consensus should be that those two games are all-time greats. Same with Skyward Sword. That game is a 7 at best.

Anyway, rant over lol. Just updated the OP with scores for Tears of the Kingdom. It's still at 96 on Metacritic from 83 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/the-legend-...

Agreed dude. Ppl get so butt hurt when someone appears to talk against Zelda it’s ridiculous. Like I don’t think there’s a bad Zelda game out there. Some are just GOOD, not great. G-O-O-D. Definition: Not bad. And while I’m not in total agreement with someone like say Jim Stephanie Sterling about BOTW being a 7/10, I think it’s about an 8/10 for me. If it wasn’t for those damn breakable weapons ruining the pacing I’d probably would have given it higher. And if those lord awful breakable weapons are present in Tears of the Kingdom, I’ll probably score it about the same as BOTW.

Humanity getting a surprisingly high score wow. Don't think anyone had that one though.

OP updated with scores for a bunch of metsfan718's very interesting choice of games. Wouldn't have even realized that some of them were already released if not for Star Trek Resurgence which I am oddly really excited about.

A few decent scores, actually but two of the games, T-REX Dinosaur Game and MrWang And Love, which both came out all the way back in January still have zero reviews lol. Those are probably going to be 0s at the end of the year.

Hey @Frank could you please let him know he's actually not doing that badly. It'll be interesting to see how high up the list he finishes if he gets 10 games out this year.

Ooh. I know at least one person had The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, and it got absolutely wrecked. 38 Metacritic average so far. I’m really glad I cancelled my pre-order even though I got a price break on Amazon for it that would have saved me $10 (as it was originally listed at $49.99). I had a bad feeling about it even though I love LOTR.

Ouch! Just updated the OP. Still at 38 from 21 reviews. Didn't even realize this was coming out already.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/the-...

I had a feeling Gollum was gonna bomb. I smell it being added to Game Pass soon enough so I can at least try that mess first hand.

Such a waste of a great IP like LotR. Just look at the success of games like Hogwarts Legacy and Spider-Man. You can print money when it's done right. Who wanted a Gollum game anyway?

IIRC, Gollum was one of the last games I narrowed out as I was slimming my list down to just 12 games lol

Yeah, I had it last year and removed it last second this year when I looked up one of the early game play trailers. The game I removed it for got a 72 (atomic heart). And I was regretting that choice. Now I am not, lol.

Scott wrote:

Dang you dodged a bullet man.

Shane12m wrote:

Yeah, for real lol

The two games I regret not having on my list this year are Spider-Man 2 and Diablo IV. Just didn’t think either one would make it out for some reason. I don’t think I really have a shot to win this year because I expect they’ll both review really well.

Heavyd814life wrote:

You have a very solid list. I think the only think holding you back is FE engage. The upcoming games on your list should all review very well. Forza is one I totally missed on and didn’t even know was coming out, but that’s because I don’t really follow the series or Xbox in general lol

Diablo IV, I missed on because blizzard seemed to be going down hill, but seems like it’s gonna be great and I’m excited for it.

Wow. Gollum has dropped to a 36. 20 points below Redfall. Now I'm curious about this thing.

Archer wrote:

$50 curious?

Give it a month or so. It’ll be on game pass in no time.

Watched most of Gollum on twitch. It's mostly climbing and sneaking, the two things I dislike most in video games. Lots of glitches and bugs.

Kommie wrote:

Hell no.

DemonAlcohol wrote:

And now I'm no longer curious, lol.

Street Fighter 6 is at 92 with 59 reviews. Wow

Shane12m wrote:

Thanks for the heads up. OP updated now. It's still at 92 from 59 reviews.

I don't follow fighting games closely, but when was the last time we had a fighting game score in the 90s? And Capcom...is there a better dev out there at the moment? They can't miss!

Heavyd814life wrote:

Yeah I’m not really interested in fighting games, but this has me wanting to get it lol. Yeah, Capcom has been absolutely killing it.

I played a bit of the demo, actual fighting mechanics aside(in the demo fights were running at 30fps for some reason), the overworld is basically a Final Fight 3D/Yakuza-esque game.

Very excited to play when it drops.

Diablo 4 not coming in quit as hot as I thought it would. Not bad numbers. But I was expecting Street Fighter 6 level of numbers. But it still has time to get plenty more reviews in and bump it up a little. Early access is on the 1st. And the game doesn't official drop until the 6th.

Currently sitting at:
88 from 44 on PC
89 from 13 on PS5
92 from 10 on XboxSX

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/diablo-iv

Also, does anyone know why opencritic numbers are always slightly higher than metacritic? They also always have more reviews. So I'm assuming that. So I would also assume they are using a lesser known review sources to get those more review/higher scores? NEVERMIND, I see. They combined all platforms into one score. They don't break it down by system. So that makes sense. I actually like that better. Instead of each system having its own review score.

Heavyd814life wrote:


The Super Smash Bros. series does it pretty consistently, but other than that I can't think of any.

If only SSB was a fighting series

Archer wrote:

Umm...maybe we should switch to OpenCritic moving forward? I think I like the idea of combining all the platforms into one score. Plus Metacritic has that garbage weighted system that values big websites over smaller ones.

Also, I think 88 is great for Diablo IV. It's right in line with Diablo III. It's on 22 lists so I'll get to updating the OP now. Still can't believe I didn't pick it.

Lunar wrote:


Yeah, I was gonna add something like that to my post but didn't. I view it more as a parody of fighting games, or it's a fighting game as much as Mario Kart is a racing sim.

Heavyd814life wrote:


I think it makes sense to switch over to them next year. They seem to have a better setup overall in my opinion.

For the purpose of this thread, OpenCritic might be better. But if I'm looking to purchase a game I think I'd trust Metacritic more.

For OpenCritic I'm sure there must be examples where averaging review scores of all platforms might be dragged down because of one version performing worse than the rest? Take DOOM Eternal for example, on Metacritic it has an 80 on Switch, not bad by any means. But on PC and the other consoles it is closer to 90. But then again, maybe performance issues are a non-factor to most critics, judging by how they all seemed to ignore the issues that recent Star Wars game had at launch.

Spiderman 2 Oct 2 release date woo woo

Sweet. This Halloween is gonna be STACKED for new gaming. Mortal Kombat 1, Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Silent Hill 2. Weeeeeeee!!!

Starfield will be a locked 30 FPS on console...

Kommie wrote:

But that moon isn't just a backdrop. You can go to that moon.

Funny how it will be excused on Xbox because of the size and scope of the game, but those same people make fun of Tears of the Kingdom's frame rate (which is easily the biggest game ever made with almost no loading screens at all).

30fps? Oh Bethesda.

Obviously we all know this game still won't be playable for a full year after release.

I’m fine with 30fps if the game is amazing. But honestly the gameplay seemed very uninspiring to me. This is a large scale sci fi rpg and the only somewhat interesting part of combat was that you can jet pack around a bit?

Glad it’s gonna be on Game Pass day 1.

Just noticed I was top of the list. Too bad it wont last. I only have one game left. While many of the people within range have 2 or 3.

I only have 5 games, but I still think I'll be able to get 10 this year.

I'm surprised I'm in Top 3 currently. I was worried about Kerbal Space Program 2 screwing things up for me because of the negative reviews it is getting on Steam, but it's just Early Access and I don't think Metacritic will post reviews until the finished product is out, and I have no idea when that will be, so I hope Alan Wake II will review well and replace it.

Skull and Bones...I don't even know if it's a thing anymore. I think I've been waiting for it since 2017 or 2018.

Not looking good for benstylus' list. 33 Immortals is a 2024 release. The Shantae remake, does that count for his "new shantae game" though?

sefjwm wrote:

It does not. I specifically named a couple of remakes elsewhere in the list. It doesn't count unless it's a new entry in the series

Gotta admit that was a good run I had... with all but 1 game showing reviews so far.

Curious to see how my last game reviews and where I end up in 6 months.

Ah, too bad. Was trying to foil your perfect 0 xD. As much as I would love of Legacy of Kain anything it's probably never going to happen :(

Unlikely that I'll get a full roster this year unless something magically drops early. Anyone brave enough to do a 2024 list will only games that are set to be Day-1 releases for Game Pass?

SwiftJAB wrote:

Not possible to get 10 titles if it's first party MS published games.

I’m second to last place. I’ll say it now with confidence I will finish in the top 5 :)

Shane12m wrote:

Very good chance to win it all, I think. Thanks for Suicide Squad getting delayed lol

Heavyd814life wrote:

Haha yeah no joke I was hoping so badly for it to get delayed.

Kommie wrote:


I was gonna post this in the Xbox thread, but that is closed due to lack of anything worth posting about in Xbox land for the past 2 months.

I'm not a big Bethesda fan so I don't play much of their games, but I do know their games are always loaded with bugs at launch. Like, it's freakin' meme status. But Mr. Booty says this will have the fewest bugs of any Bethesda game and I thought it was funny that's a real headline and not something from a gaming satire site.That's something they should be aiming for with each game.
https://www.polygon.com/23759528/starfield-bugs-be...

PizzaTheHutt wrote:

No one's gonna believe this at all

With the bar set that low lol

They've been working on the game for 12 years. It better be the most polished product they have ever put out.

OP updated with scores for Crash Team Rumble and Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life. Both are currently at 73 on Metacritic.

Also, I believe the FF16 review embargo lifts in a couple of hours. I'll update the OP with scores for that one later today.

FF16 sitting at a comfy 88 right now on MC. Sweet!

TalonJedi87 wrote:

Yup pretty awesome, my concern though is there are a lot of reviews mentioning that the rpg aspects are pretty shallow and that was a worry I had coming into it

I was very strongly considering putting "new 2D Mario game" on my list, but decided to play it safer this year. Kicking myself now.

With the new warioware game I may end up getting points this year after all.

I knew I should have specified platformer.

Lol I somehow didn't put my most anticipated game on my list. xD

Happened to me last year with one of my favorite game series.. I really thought God of War Ragnorok was going to slip from 2022 to 2023. Silly rabbit I was.

Okay guys, OP should now be up to date. Final Fantasy XVI is still at 88 on Metacritic from 100 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/fina...

@incubus421 I just noticed our lists are almost identical lol

Scott wrote:

@Scott I'm kicking myself a bit for not adding RE4, but I think we have a chance to end near the top.

You did add RE4 though!

lol I meant Dead Space, I knew it was one of those horror remakes

Yeah, I wish I had added that one too.

Good to see FF16 is well-liked. I needed a bit of a boost after Gollum, lol.

OP updated with scores for The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie. It's currently at 85 on Metacritic from 10 reviews. Good pick @Lunar

https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/the-...

Way higher than I figured

I just played Bramble: The Mountain King on GamePass... just wow. colorful and dark. It had some challenging bits for me but I eventually got through them. Shame I didn't hear about this cause I'd have put it on my list.

OP updated with scores for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. It's currently at 76 on Metacritic from 29 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/oxenfree-ii-los...

Good thing I had that as an alt. Surprised by some of those reviews.

EDTI: actually at this point it doesn't matter. I wont be winning.

Archer wrote:

Reviews are all over the place for this one. PC at 76. PS5 at 80 and Switch up at 85. Usually don't see such a wide range even if one console has more reviews than the others. Scores are typically within 2 or 3 of each other.

Heavyd814life wrote:

That is what happens when reviewers are forced to review a game in a genre they don't like. Which is why you can't really trust reviews from the big sites that pump them out for almost every game. Like some of these reviews say things like it being a walking/talking simulator with dull gameplay and no action. No crap Sherlock. Its a point and click adventure game.

Heavyd814life wrote:

That’s also partly due to the switch version having a lot less review scores as well

Pikman 4 currently at an 88 with 65 reviews. Nice!

Real nice! I’ll have the OP updated later today

OP updated with scores for Pikmin 4. It's still at 88 on Metacritic from 66 reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/switch/pikmin-4

I think I'll at least make top 5 this year.

I'm just excited three of the games on my list have already been announced.

(I'm counting Shantae because the GBA one coming from LRG next year was never released so it's still technically "new")

Scott wrote:

Oh for sure, def in contention to win it too

Shane12m wrote:

It’s going to be the closest race we’ve ever had for sure. And I think like the top 5 or 6 will finish with more points than any of the winners in previous years have. Everyone did an amazing job of picking games this year!

Should be fun to see how it all plays out!

Baldur's Gate III sitting at 94 on Metacritic for PC currently.

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

But oddly, only 4 reviews.

Bleed_DukeBlue wrote:

Yeah with only 4 reviews. I’m expecting a ton of 100s once outlets spend more time with it. I like that so many are taking there time

Yeah, I’m glad they are all taking their time with it. I’ll update the OP once a few more reviews come in.

Yeah. Larian's Swen Vincke said the core story takes around 75-100 hours to complete, and one reviewer said it took 24 hours to beat just the first act. This is one of the few times when I'm glad a game is really long, because it's so good so far.

I thought I saw memes floating around about the new Baldur's Gate is crashing PCs, taking forever to get up and running, etc??

No issues for me so far on PC.

HybridCRoW wrote:

I wish I had a PC that could run it, so I didn't have to wait for the console version.

Up to a 97 from 16 reviews. 9.3 user score from 3300 reviews.

By time I get to play it, the definitive edition with all future DLC will probably be out, lol.

GOTY candidate. Zelda got competition.

I really wish I could dedicate 200 hours to BG3 without sacrificing other games I wanna play . It sounds sensational.

Okay guys OP should be up to date now. BG3 is still sitting at 97 from 18 reviews!

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/baldurs-gate-3

Its crazy that there are still a couple users that could beat that already insane leading score. But they will need some very high scores to do it. I think only 3 people have an actual shot at passing it. And only by a couple points. But even then for them to do it, we are talking remaining games scoring over 90. Everyone one of them. Like 95 for some of them. And I honest just don't see it happening. This has been a crazy year regardless.

It's nice to be the top score for a change, lol I never would have thought that Octopath Traveler II would be the lowest score on my main list, crazy year indeed.

Good luck to the remaining games and participants, there's still a chance.

Wild year for sure. I think my biggest takeaway is how few delays we've had. I expected more. I may be wrong but I think Suicide Squad is the only high-profile release that's been pushed to 2024. Even something like Armored Core which I didn't think had any hope of hitting this year is only a couple of weeks away.

I think I said this earlier, but there's a good chance the top 8 or so finish with more points than the winners in any of the previous years have finished with. So many well-received games and everyone did a great job picking games this year. I need Forza to hit 90 to tie with @Best1989. Not impossible, but no Forza Motorsport game has hit that since 2011 so I'm likely out of it.

On Octopath...I'm 80 hours in and I have no idea how it's only at 84 on Metacritic. BG3 will definitely be my GOTY this year if my time with the early access is anything to go by, but Octopath Traveler II is just soooo good. Best JRPG I've played in a long time.

The winner will definitely have BG3 on their list.
ie....not me.

Yeah, I had a chance until that BG3 score, wow.

I technically still have a chance but uh... I would need ridiculously high scores on my last 5 for that.

Top 4 is already done for the year.
I myself am missing 3 games still.

I would need my remaining 3 to score at least a 90 to make it.

I just can’t believe I’m still within the top 10 with all the delay nonsense that went on this year with some of my picks.

I still have a shot if a ton of companies get on board with my remake/sequel wishes for the holiday season

Boss wrote:

And who are the top 4 in your opinion

Shane12m wrote:


The current standings.

Boss wrote:

Nah, that top 4 definitely isn't staying the same. Shane, for example, still has a real shot to win it all if Spidey 2, Starfield, and Sea of Stars review well. As do others who are further down the list.

I need to average a 93 on my final 3 games to stand a chance.

I had a good run....

Heavyd814life wrote:


Nice. I was just saying the Top 4 already had all their games chosen so they are done meaning no more points for them for the year. So everyone outside of Top 4 can use their remaining games to estimate where they need to be to pass the current Top 4.

Of course people like Shane are going leapfrog Too a good spot once some of his heavy hitters come out.

OP updated with scores for Armored Core 6 and WrestleQuest. They are sitting at 87 and 70 respectively on Metacritic.

Next up should be reviews for Sea of Stars in a few days. Really curious to see how it reviews because the demo was quite good.

Sea of Stars I backed I just realized on Kickstarter. And Armored Core 6 now up to an 88. Neat!

Blasphemous 2 has reviews but I don't think anyone picked it. It's at 86

Nice score for Armored Core, that's one I was curious about.

Kommie wrote:

yeah, this is one that would have been on a few lists if it was announced last year lol. love the surprise, short turn-around drops!

Sea of stars is sitting at 89 so far with 14 reviews

Shane12m wrote:

Nice! Just updated the OP. It's still at 89 from 16 reviews. And honestly not shocked by those scores at all. The demo is awesome!

https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/sea-of-stars

Shane12m wrote:

Nice, this is the only Kickstarter game I've ever done

So I honestly think I have the top 3 on lock as of now. Unless Spider Man 2 and Starfield both score below 85 which could happen but honestly do not see happening. I think Starfield is gonna average around 89-90 with Spider around the same score. It is gonna come down to Horizon as well. If Horizon scores in the 90s and Starfield and Spider man fall below 90 then heavy4 is gonna take it. Thebest1989 really needs Horizon to review an 89 or lower and will have a good shot at 1st or 2nd depending on Starfield and Spiderman.


Now, I did not look through everyones list and rankings so please forgive me if I am discounting anyone!

It's a close one this year.

Spiderman seems like a solid 85 to me but I'm sure there will be fan service that will push it over the top.

Spider-Man 2 I’ll predict will come in at a 90-93 on MC due to fan padding for sure. Works for me tho. Can’t wait for it.

Starfield currently sitting at 88 with 29 reviews.

That is odd, I see nothing for it on metacritic yet.

Dang this is gonna come down to Spider Man 2 and Horizon. Gonna be a close finish

Archer wrote:

yeah it was there and then its not anymore lol. But now it shows pc sitting at 89 with 26

I only saw the IGN review pop up giving it a 7/10. I think I have it on my list though so I’ll take the 89 hah.

Shane12m wrote:

Yeah, something is odd with their system currently. I see a score for it in search results. But the actual game pages have nothing.

I've been skimming some of the reviews over on opencritic. And even the "lower" score reviews are very positive on it. They are just docking it for not being Fallout 5 or Skyrim 2.0. Which is odd. Not like if this game scored a 99 I'd win anyways.

Looks like its at 87 from 40 on Xbox.

Now at 87 with 40 reviews in

Well with that I'm out for the year. I'll be shocked if I finish in the top 5 come end of the year. With how many people have Spidy2 behind me. And a few other games.

Archer wrote:


88
https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/starfield

Shane12m wrote:


For me I need Lies of P to come in a 85 or higher and beat those two.

Boss wrote:

I haven’t really followed that game much. Is that a realistic score? How’s it looking?

Shane12m wrote:


Looks quiet good. It has a chance. And with no new Souls game out for next gen it could do quiet well.

Shane12m wrote:

Horizon? As in Zero Dawn and Forbidden West? I didn't know there was another one already.

DemonAlcohol wrote:

Forza Horizon, but I am a dingus and its Forza Motorsport lol

Boss wrote:

Damn man your list is SO good. I am not sure if Lies of P is gonna do so well, but I hope it does. You really killed it with your list.

I spent way to much time doing math while at work just now, but..

If scores stay the same (Starfield may move a bit, Sea of stars may go up or down one)

If Spider Man 2 scores an 86 (Spider man 1 got an 87)

Forza needs a 92 or higher (would be a tie at 92)

Lies of P needs a 88 or higher (would be a tie at 88)

I love how down to the wire this should be. Why did I not sign up for this before? lol

I still got a chance. I just need Wario to do well and then the 9 remaining games that haven't even been hinted at, much less announced, to come out by year end and all be awesome too.

Piece of cake.

benstylus wrote:

Love it :)

If Lies of P does that well I’ll be shocked. It just looks mediocre to me idk why.

Shane12m wrote:


Thanks. This is what makes it fun, everyone has a chance and an opinion.

TalonJedi87 wrote:


Guess we will find out in 20 days.

Sorry for the delay, folks. Scores for Starfield have been added to the OP. It's still at 87 from 52 reviews.

This is really going to come down to the wire! Please bear in mind that the scores in the OP aren't 100% accurate. Some games have gone up/down a point or two since they were added to the OP and Starfield may still go up or down as well.

I do still think @Shane12m has 1st place all but wrapped up because Spidey 2 should definitely score higher than 85. The top 3 is still very wide open, though and will be decided by how well Spidey 2, Lies of P, Forza Motorsport, and Alan Wake II review.

@Shane12m I think we need to dock you points for even having Suicide Squad in your top 10 lol.

Heavyd814life wrote:

Haha that’s fair, I don’t know what I was thinking with that game. I honestly did no research on that game and hadn’t followed it and figured rocksteady had been sooo good with its previous titles lol. I was hoping it would get delayed after watching the presentation on the game.

Suicide Squad pissed me off. I put it in my list then they say yeah guess what chumps? It’s been delayed almost an entire year. I hope that game gets review bombed hard now.

Starfield keeps dropping. At an 85 now. This is gonna be close

Maybe all hope isn’t lost for me. Just need Forza to crush it!

This one is strange, though. Scores don’t usually fall this much. I could have sworn Starfield was at 90 after the first 20 or so reviews. Scores typically stay steady. They don’t drop 5 points.

Heavyd814life wrote:

PC is higher still. But Xbox is lower. PC is still 87. But xbox is 85 with 3 more reviews. Which means we use that score now, correct?

Archer wrote:

Ah, maybe it was 90 on PC and I’m getting the scores mixed up. That would make more sense.

And yeah, we go with the platform with the most reviews.

They allegedly held back review codes from more negative outlets so it was expected to drop a bit.

sefjwm wrote:

This is part of why nobody really trusts reviews anymore. When publishers are free to give or withhold copies so that only their preferred outlets have the game in time to review prior to release, that's a problem. Early reviews equal website views equal ad revenues so the review sites are incentivized to keep the publishers happy even if it is to the detriment of consumers.

Note I'm not saying that every highly rated game that was released this year just has inflated review scores, but why aren't review sites fully independent? The video game industry in the US had $97.67 billion in revenue in 2022 (an all time high) which makes it bigger than the movie industry ($27.3b), the music industry ($15.9b) and the book industry ($28b) combined.

Why aren't game review sites fully independent?

They only didn't give a review copy to ONE outlet. And its one from the UK. One that no one trusts anyways. And one that goes out of their way to dog on every game they can, just to get clicks. People in the UK don't even really care about that site. And it seemed more like an oversight, not something intentional. Not that I could really know for sure. Because as soon as they complained about it, they got it immediately. And they did this all via social media to be pricks on purpose. It was a hey look at us, click on our site links and read our article about this. Here is why we will purposely give this game a bad review. Their exact words. They said we will give this game a bad review because of this in an article on their site. Loaded with ads. Not hey, wonder why we don't have a copy yet, just asking a question kind of thing, I think you forgot about us BGS. They could have just contacted Bethesda about it as well instead of using social media at all. But doing what they did gave them more exposure, which gave them more ad revenue. Which is also to @benstylus point above. The whole thing is a joke in my opinion. And people getting mad at Bethesda about it are just as silly to me.


This is also why youtube is now full of garbage video game content as well. Its nothing but click bait and rage bait content. And every channel has the same exact videos about the same exact games. Because they all want a share of the ad revenue. I can't stand youtube video game content now days.

The confirmed outlets were Eurogamer, Edge, Metro, Kotaku, and The Guardian and those are just the ones that spoke publicly. As more late reviews come in it's likely that's also because those places didn't get codes. It was a little odd since Bethesda gave out way more codes than they normally do and earlier than they normally do. They also gave codes to lots of smaller sites, streamers, and fans. I wasn't saying if it's right or wrong what happened, just why we are probably going to see more score movement than normal for Starfield.

Regardless, nobody should just go off number scores alone. Read multiple reviews from varied outlets. Do they like things you like? Dislike things you dislike? Make your own judgement based on the content of the reviews form both high and low reviews. And remember a 7 at almost every outlet is considered a good game.

Archer wrote:

Maybe we should start a thread on worthwhile YouTube VG content. Because behind all the crapface clickbait thumbnails, there are some great channels out their doing great work.

Honestly, I still watch/read a lot of the mainstream reviews still (IGN, KFG, DF, Gamespot, etc) I also watch youtube groups like Escapist, Jimquisition, and PSVR Without Parole. Heck, I still read Kotaku reviews. I may not always agree, and sometimes rarely agree, with some of the reviews but it provides a good idea of what the game offers and then I make my decisions based on that.

Having a good circle of friends that game also helps. Word of mouth from friends is also huge in my choices.

I don't remember anyone having it on their list, but I feel like Lies of P has come up in discussion some. I'm surprised at how good the reviews are for it (low 80s).

A lot do people I think were expecting it to be very high... It's higher than I expected it. High 70's was my guess. Demo sad pretty meh.

I don't really like that new site they have.

Archer wrote:

Yeah the new layout is terrible

Lies of P looking like a great game. 82 and could go higher still. May have to check it out at some point. Wasn’t a huge fan of bloodbourne myself but love the souls series

Yeah, the new site layout is annoying but I’m sure we’ll get used to it in time.

Definitely surprised to see Lies of P review so well. I didn’t enjoy the demo at all. It felt like a Bloodborne knockoff and all it did was make me want to go play Bloodborne instead. It’s a pass for me but maybe the demo wasn’t representative of the final product.

Anyway, I’ll have the OP updated later today.

I’m shocked. I thought Lies of P would have been like high 60’s low 70’s. I’ll game pass it one day maybe. Demo did look blah tho. Maybe they stepped it up since then.

Starfield at 83 now.. yikes

83 is still good???? Bethesda haven't made anything new in.... forever. It's the same game. Instead of making the same game every year like Call of Duty, somehow it takes them 8 or so years to make the same all over again.

GG @Best1989 with Lies of P out I'm not going to be able to pass you.

Kommie wrote:

I just meant yikes in regards to the scores of the league in this thread lol

Boss wrote:

Yeah I was hoping it would score higher so you would have a chance for a close finish but it looks like it’s gonna be a close finish with Spider man and Forza. Alan wake 2 could also be a surprise that jumps someone up a bit

Anyone have Mortal Kombat 1? I know it was a late entry that kinda popped up after we placed our bets, but it’s currently sitting at an 85 on MC with 18 PC reviews. I guess they just started trickling in.

TalonJedi87 wrote:

I had an ad for it pop up when I was watching a YouTube video... it brought back the "MORTAL KOMBAT!" shout and had hints of the legendary song.

Hey guys the OP should be completely up to date now with the current Metacritic scores for each game. It's a nightmare going through each game and updating them but it's done! There are a couple of us with an outside chance to overtake @Best1989 but @Shane12m definitely has the best shot. As long as all the scores hold, he'll need 85 from Spidey 2 to move into 1st place.

Nice! Something really crazy would need to happen for that game to not get more than 85, I think. I wonder why I didn't add it to my list.

Best1989 wrote:

Yeah, I regret not having it on my list either. I just wasn't sure it'd make it out this year, but Insomniac churn out games like crazy so I shouldn't have doubted them.

Having 2 games delayed going to win it this year heh

sefjwm wrote:

That’s why alternates matter

And beastly alternates they were :)

Forza currently at 84 with 60 reviews. That’s a good score but I was expecting higher tbh
I wonder how it will run on steam deck.

Shane12m wrote:

Dude same! Really thought I had a chance to catch @Best1989 but looks like I'm going to finish behind both you guys. Hopefully I'm able to hold on to 3rd place.

OP updated with scores for Forza Motorsport and Assassin's Creed Mirage. They are currently sitting at 84 and 77 respectively on Metacritic.

Mirage getting the scores of Unity and Syndicate, and sounds as boring as 3. Probably going to be a single month of ubi+ for me to check that one out.

Yeah, I was expecting Forza to be around 88.

I never play Assassin's Creed games on launch anyway, so Mirage's score is fine for me.

I hope Ubi finally learns that this is what the majority of folks now wants. Middle of the road AC games at 20 hours in length at $50. But they won’t. The next AC game set in Japan will be a 250 hour slog.

Since Silksong isn't coming out, I'll get the 88 for Sea of Stars, bringing me up to 785. From there, it just comes down to Spider-Man 2 for my final score. I definitely can't reach Best's score, and would need a 97 to tie Heavyd. That's very unlikely, but a 94 would tie me with Boss, so I'm hoping for at least that much! I'll definitely make top 5 though.

I really thought Forza was going to do better, that would have put me in a much better position here.

Like @Scott , I'll also take one of my backups in place of Silksong. May I choose my second backup, Street Fighter 6? Or do I have to go with FE Engage first, since I listed it as #1?

Silksong is basically like the Cuphead DLC at this point. It's coming out but no one knows when. Cuphead DLC did eventually come out....

I just need Spiderman to score 107+ and I've got this

I just need my game list to magically change into top 10 scoring games this year and I got this 🙃

It comes down to Spider Man. Will rendering parts of Brooklyn and Queens be enough of a gimmick to save the day...

Spider man 2 at 91 with 63 reviews

Still can't believe I don't have Spidey 2 on my list...sigh. Updating OP now...

Okay peeps. OP is up to date. Spidey 2 is still at 91 from 112 reviews.

Top 3 is almost set. Shane is going to win, Best has 2nd place all but wrapped up, but 3rd place is still up for grabs. I'm currently in 3rd, but if Alan Wake scores higher than 88 then Pizza finishes 3rd. If it scores higher than 93 then Pizza finishes 2nd.

This is easily the best and most competitive year we've had. Tons of people are going to finish with 10 games and for reference, I won last year with 863 points but 863 points this year will finish in 8th or 9th place I think once I do the final tally at the end of the year.

Game Over @bonham2

Ooh I may crack top 10, maybe even 5. Though likely not 5 due to everyone's alternates slotting into place.

Even though I finished #15 I’m happy that all but one game I picked, Atomic Heart, got in the mid 80’s and low 90’s. I enjoy playing each year. Thanks @Heavyd814life for coordinating and doing this annually! I’m gonna start working on my 2024 list soon since my selections for 2023 have just ran out with Spiderman 2.

Boss wrote:

Not if Hollow Knight Silk Song magically comes out in the next two months and gets better than a 96.

No matter how this turns out, I'm pretty happy, since I finished second to last last year! The one big hit I took was on Horizon: Call of the Mountain, which was definitely a heart over head choice. I don't regret it, though, as I still think that game is underrated.

I also had Call of the Mountain and I feel like it's perfectly rated. High 70 is a good-great game still and it definitely didn't quite live up to what I was hoping for while still being a lot of fun.

I chose Call of the Mountain too. I thought it would get a lot of high scores based on the "omg this is so cool" factor of the new features PSVR2 offers that other VR headsets don't. But it didn't score as high as I had hoped. No PSVR2 launch games did for that matter, kinda why I haven't bought one yet.

The biggest criticism I heard was that it was a climbing simulator, but climbing is one of my favorite things in VR, so I really enjoyed it.

sefjwm wrote:

I don't mind climbing and archery but I was hoping there would be more to it. The game was beautiful though and I put my parents through safari mode and they were impressed. This reminds me I need to go back and plat it still as well as play all the other vr2 games I bought.

Wow Mario Wonder at 95 with 39 reviews. Twice now they have followed Zelda up with a GOTY contender Mario game.

Damn. Did anyone have it on their list? Probably not since it was just kinda announced late in 2023, but if someone said pending New Super Mario side scrolling title. Good for them.

I strongly considered putting "new 2D Mario" on my list, but decided to play it safe after taking so many risks the last 2 years and then doing so poorly because of it lol. I'm so glad to hear that Mario Wonder is doing so well though!

Yeah, I don't think anyone knew it was coming xD

Scott wrote:

I did too. I had it but deleted it to play it safe.

Scott wrote:

Well since it's a 3d side scroller and not 2d, that would have not given you any points.

I got a mix of Super Nintendo Mario and Lost Levels vibes when I saw the "commercial" for Super Mario Wonder. I definitely have to get it when I am able to.

Alan Wake 2 currently at 90 with 21 reviews on ps5. All 90-100 except one 60 outlier so far

Pc at 96 with only 12 reviews but none below 90

Nice! Can’t wait to play it! Did anyone have Alan Wake 2 on their lists? I know it was a late entry. I wish I did.

I have Alan Wake 2 as an alternate pick and I'll end up using it since Kerbal Space Program 2 didn't release this year (it's still in early access).

OP updated with scores for Alan Wake II. It's currently at 88 on Metacritic from 39 reviews.

So happy for Remedy. Hopefully the positive reviews translate to good sales for them. Shame it's digital only, though. I likely won't get around to picking it up til it's like sub $20.

https://www.metacritic.com/game/alan-wake-ii/

Why are there so few reviews for the Xbox version of Alan Wake II? There's only 4 compared to 28 on PC and 39 on PS5.

I don’t think many critics review games on Xbox consoles. I’ve noticed this going back to the XB1 days. It’s either PC or a PlayStation console they typically favor for some reason. Maybe review copies are easier to get on PC/PS than Xbox

PizzaTheHutt wrote:

What ever the most popular console is for that gen is where the reviews go. Same I guess for dev time to polish a game in my experience. If you go back to the 360/ps3 days most all reviews were for the 360 version. Then PS4 and 5 have taken over that due to them being the leader between the two.

And honestly, as someone who owns both. Most games run like crap on the SX compared to the PS5. I've spent most of my gaming time this year on the SX, and in my experience all the games were sub par compared to the PS5 versions in terms of performance and visuals. So much so that I ended up refunding 3 games on the SX and re-buying them on PS5 because of it. Devs just are not giving that console a fair shake it seems. Unless its just a pita to dev for, I have no idea on that front. Its crazy to me how one version of the game can be so bad compared to the other.

Archer wrote:

could be due to the XsS and XsX having to work just as well despite different hardware

Yeah, that is probably what it is actually. Not sure how I didn't think of that.

I thought most sites just do 1 review and apply it to both versions, but I actually prefer reviewing each individually.

One review of the Xbox version by "ButWhyTho.net" (who I never heard of before) was only reviewed on Xbox because she had too many technical issues trying to get the game running on her PC, so had to settle for the Xbox version. But even on Xbox she had some issues, like the game crashing 3 times and audio dropping out when she'd skip a cutscene and she'd have to restart the game to get it back again. Her review isn't finished yet, I assume because she got the code a bit late after not being able to finish it on PC.

Just saw a thing saying that this year has the most games that have scored over a 90 average in over 20 years. With 25 games this year having over a 90. I didn't realize 25 games had scored that high this year. A lot of us really missed out on having even crazier scores in here, lol.

according to overall Metacritic score, there's 24 'things' that are rated 90+, but a few aren't valid for our little game here. I think 17 of those actually count; still a good amount. highest possible score is 924 with:
-TotK
-baldurs gate 3
-RE4
-Cocoon
-SMB Wonder
-Street fighter 6
-Turbo Overkill
-Diablo 4
-Sea of Stars
-any of the eight 90 score games

Best is pretty dang close!

Yeah, but my point is there could have been a lot more users with over 850 points this year.

What? Nobody had Turbo Overkill in their lists?

I don't remember if I'd ever heard of it before just seeing it listed in that post, but I just checked a trailer for it and it's in my wishlist now.

Yeah, it looks pretty cool. Another game getting good reviews I had never heard of until today https://www.metacritic.com/game/little-goody-two-s...

bogo wrote:

How many of those 90 score games have less than 20 reviews? I feel like Turbo Overkill getting a 90 with 11 reviews would have been really cheap to count towards compared to a game with 90+ reviews. It is sooo easy to score really high (or low) with very few reviews. Maybe a minimum of 20 (30? 40?) reviews or something needs to be in place

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